Goblin Dependency

"That's part of it."

"You must have heard before that the various battle skills spread across the continent are as numerous as the leaves in the Mist Forest."

"Among them, the battle skills belonging to basic professions like 'warrior' and 'wanderer', although plentiful, still leave a large portion we cannot classify, or are simply branches of some niche, obscure professions."

"Hence, they are all categorized under 'miscellaneous' for those in need to exchange."

Speaking of which, Moli carefully reminded:

"Mr. Xia Nan, uh… the association suggests, if you are not entirely confident, and your points are not abundant, please consider carefully when exchanging battle skills under the 'miscellaneous' category."

"After all, many battle skills there cannot be used just after exchanging. Some may even have prerequisites or professional restrictions, possibly wasting your valuable points for nothing."

Xia Nan nodded in acknowledgment.

He thought that if his [Gravity Etching] were to be recorded in the association, it would likely be classified under 'miscellaneous'.

He suddenly recalled the energy fluctuations and guidance methods when performing [Gravity Etching].

He estimated that [Gravity Control] was probably the core prerequisite of this profession's accompanying battle skill.

Even if someone somehow mastered the training method of [Gravity Etching], without the ability to manipulate 'gravity', it would likely lead to nothing.

His thoughts gradually extended along this line, digesting the information Moli provided in his mind.

As if realizing a certain doubt, Xia Nan frowned slightly, closed the catalog in his hand, and asked:

"Let's assume, what if my profession is 'Martial Monk', but I learn a battle skill that belongs to the 'Ranger' profession through some means, what would be the impact?"

"Or, would it be simply impossible to master?"

It was a bit beyond her scope.

Moli, although professionally trained by the association as a front desk receptionist, had served several professionals... but at least those newcomers she interacted with usually only asked a few shallow questions before being tempted by the various items on the second floor and hurriedly prepared for their tasks.

Rarely did anyone ask such detailed questions.

For a moment, her just slightly relaxed expression due to fluent answering, tightened again.

"Please, please wait a moment..."

She retrieved the pamphlet from her pocket and hurriedly skimmed through it.

And just then, a friendly mature male voice suddenly came from not far beside them.

"It's possible to learn battle skills of other professions, but the training progress will be slow, and in most cases, they are useless."

Turning his head, Xia Nan's gaze followed the direction of the voice.

In his view appeared a middle-aged man in scale armor with a compact build.

His black-brown short hair lay close to his scalp, the roots as thick as insect legs; his skin was a bronze hue long exposed to sunlight and sea breezes, and the muscles of his calves were extraordinarily developed, filling his trousers to the brim.

He wore an inconspicuous brass earring on his left ear, occasionally catching the light to reflect a slight glow; a sharp long spear made of green-gray rock was slung across his back.

The most noticeable feature was the peculiar tattoo that spread from the man's collar up his neck, covering half his face.

The tattoo wasn't particularly exquisite, but the patterns, like intersecting waves, gales, and shells, gave a strange sense of exotic beauty.

Far superior perception ability allowed Xia Nan to instinctively notice various details upon seeing the figure.

If he handed these collected pieces of information to a learned professor or an adventurer with extensive travel experience, they would likely immediately deduce the man's background, identity, even his family status, and surname.

But for Xia Nan, who had long been bombarded with the words of passing adventurers in taverns, possessing the deepest knowledge of insults towards various races and profanities in different languages,

All he could deduce was this man was likely a capable senior adventurer, from the eastern coast or southern shores, previously perhaps a sailor or simply of fisherman origin.

Nodding at Xia Nan who was looking over, the man voluntarily resolved his doubts:

"Once you've obtained a professional level, the battle skills you can learn are not restricted, what you could learn before is still possible now."

"But, there's one thing." He raised his index finger towards Xia Nan, revealing faint calloused patches around the finger root and thumb base.

"When training battle skills not belonging to your profession, your efficiency drops significantly, and concerning future upgrades and job transitions, it would merely waste time and energy, for little gain."

"Therefore, unless due to a specific plan for a job transition, few would learn battle skills outside their profession."

Upgrade? Transition?

Grasping the key words from the man's words, Xia Nan's eyes lit up instantly. Despite just meeting the man, and having not exchanged names, he politely said:

"Could you talk about it in more detail?"

In response, the man remained just as friendly as earlier, without refusing, he temporarily took over Moli's task to explain to Xia Nan:

"How to enhance your professional level after successfully obtaining a job?"

"There is only one method."

"Train the battle skills under your professional category to a 'Master' skill level."

"Each time you master a skill to the 'Master' level, your professional level increases by one."

"As for how to transition, and the specific direction of the transition..."

"Essentially, it's no different from how you became a professional."

"Decided by battle skills!"

"Take 'warrior' for example, from Level 1 to Level 10, it means including the skill that was your previous condition for promotion, a total of 10 'Master' level battle skills are required."

"And the specific type of these 10 skills determines your advanced profession after transitioning."

"Therefore, many adventurers with connections and backgrounds often plan their career paths before promotion."

"Targeting a powerful advanced profession, they plan step by step, like a ladder, on which battle skills they need to learn in the future."

He couldn't help but grin.

"Of course, these are just for listening."

"For lower-tier professionals like us, it's good enough to live until retirement; Level 10, Transcendent Profession... is still far away."

The man stepped forward with a smile, extending his hand to Xia Nan.

"Cash, captain of the 'Sea Thorn' adventurer team."

Given that the man resolved his most concerning issue, Xia Nan did not respond coldly.

He stood up.

Handshake, introduction.

"Hello, Xia Nan."

He noticed the man's gaze sweeping over the thin shirt on him and the two longswords behind him.

The man named "Cash" maintained his gentle smile,

"Gray Sword? I heard people talk about it in the tavern, thought it would be an old guy like me, didn't expect someone so young."

Feeling slightly embarrassed to have his nickname mentioned in front of others, he maintained his composure and expressed his gratitude.

Seemingly busy, after a few more words, Cash indicated his departure.

"My teammates are still waiting in the tavern, let's talk next time."

"If there's a chance, let's cooperate together."

With that, he walked towards the stairs leading to the lower hall, carrying his green-gray stone spear.

After a brief thought, glancing around, Xia Nan took his leave from Moli too:

"Thank you for your hospitality today, I've just returned to River Valley Town and still have many things to handle."

"In a few days, once things are settled, I might come to trouble you again."

"No worries, call me anytime, it's my honor to serve you," Moli responded warmly.

What Xia Nan said wasn't a lie.

Having now gathered information about the second floor of the association, upgrades, and transitions, he needed to carefully digest today's collected intelligence, handle the spoils and crystals, and process the enchanted equipment commissioned at the "Rock Hammer" Blacksmith Shop before making plans.